Ulster Bank Gifts Belfast’s ‘Flying Figures’ to National Museums NI

The future of an internationally significant piece of public art in Belfast is being secured through an arrangement between Ulster Bank and National Museums NI.

‘Airborne Men’ – aluminium sculptures by renowned artist Dame Elisabeth Frink that have been on the side of Ulster Bank’s former Shaftesbury Square branch since the 1960s – are being gifted by the bank to the Ulster Museum with a view to them going on prominent display at their eventual new home.

The work was commissioned in 1961 on behalf of Ulster Bank, as a focal point at the new and impressive banking facility at Shaftesbury Square, which opened in 1964. Ulster Bank sold the building in 2009, with the bank then taking back a lease of the whole building and retaining ownership of the sculptures to help protect and preserve them.

From August 2023, there will be no remaining connection between the bank and the building, and with the aim of ensuring that the people of Belfast can continue to have access to these internationally important works, the bank has decided to gift them to the national collection.

The works have today been carefully and sensitively removed from the wall at Shaftesbury Square by Ulster Bankappointed expert Maurice Ward Art Handling. After a thorough conservation assessment and preparation, National Museums NI intends for the works to go on display in a prominent position at the Ulster Museum.

Terry Robb, head of personal banking at Ulster Bank said: “This is fantastic news that will see the future of these internationally important art works secured and will enable them to continue to be accessible to the people of Belfast and Northern Ireland. Ulster Bank recognises their significance in artistic terms and as a landmark, and after careful consideration, we strongly believe that this is the best outcome for the sculpture and the city.”

“National Museums NI is a world-class museum organisation and therefore an appropriate custodian of the artwork. National Museums NI also cares for an internationally significant collection of art, including a collection of works by Elisabeth Frink which it took in 2019 following a multi-way gift from the estate of the artist’s son who died in 2017. The fact that the Ulster Museum is in relatively close proximity to the sculptures’ current home is also a real bonus,” he added.